


Miranda Jones and the Runes of the Vampire

by felsic (Dealer)



Category: Tattered Weave
Genre: Albino Lenta AU, Vampire Lenta AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-12-12 22:06:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11746116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dealer/pseuds/felsic
Summary: Runes? in MY bookshop? its more likely than you think





	Miranda Jones and the Runes of the Vampire

"Hey, Lenta?"

"Mmm?"

It was tea time. It was a sort of ritual they'd come up with, Miranda and Lenta. Pull them both out of their own heads. It was also an excellent time for Miranda to ask any new questions about magic she'd come up with.

"I was moving shelves earlier today," she explained, "and found some symbols. Are they magic? What're they for?"

It'd seemed an innocent enough question to Miranda, but--perhaps only imagined Lenta freezing for an instant at the mention of symbols.

"Ah," they said, taking a sip of tea. "Those are runes. Forgive me, that space was not being used at the time, and I hesitate to place them here or in the royal court--magic and artifacts can cause interference."

"Interference?"

"Yes." They put their teacup down as their gaze drifted to the side, as it does when they're deciding on how to explain something. "Runes are... They are like, what do you call them? Batteries?"

"Oh! Do they power spells?"

"Something like that. Runes are often used for long-term enchantments. They contain a fair amount of magic, and release it slowly so the caster does not have constantly power the spell with their own reserves. The runes you found--those are simply protection runes. Wards and the like."

"And other magic can cause problems?"

"Of course. Not all magic is compatible. In most cases the conflicting forms of magic will simply cancel each other out, but as long as you do not put anything especially magical near them they will be fine." They paused. "I, ah--It is not necessary, but it would put my mind at ease if you would cover those up again. Runes are traditionally hidden--I am not sure the princess would approve of having the wards that protect her home out in the open."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It is fine," Lenta said with a small laugh.

A pause as the two sipped their tea.

"So are there any books on runes? I haven't read anything about them before."

The dryad considered this quietly. "There are, but I do not know where you may find one. I once had a runebook, but I am afraid I misplaced it many years ago. I did not--I have not yet had a great need to replace it. I had committed them most of them to memory already, you see."

"Hm." This was not going to be the first time Miranda's had to hunt down a book. She immediately began making plans to visit various people the next day and ask if they have a copy or know where she can find one--usually someone can help.

 

Othidar looked up from his cooking as Miranda knocked gently on the door frame. He smirked, though not unkindly.

"I know that look," he said. "Take a seat while I finish this up."

Miranda obediently sat down at the table, taking the moment to admire the old elf's home. It was morning the following day. Othidar insisted on feeding her breakfast every morning--he claimed it was so she doesn't fall into the habit of not feeding herself as other intellectual-types seem prone to do, but she suspected he simply enjoyed the act of cooking for someone. Either way she wasn't going to complain: the food he served was divine, and his home beautiful. Having someone to talk to every morning also gave her a clear starting point whenever she went on a book hunt.

He set a plate down in front of her--it looked like he'd been experimenting with Hope dishes again: pancakes with eggs, a brightly colored smoothie, and seed cookies on the side, as well as chunky peanut butter and syrup that smelled faintly of cinnamon for spreading. He set another plate down for himself and plopped himself into a chair with a sigh. "Alright, tadpole. What're you on the hunt for today?"

"A runebook," she said promptly as she reached for the syrup. "I asked Lenta, but they said they lost theirs. _Oh,_ wow..." Miranda savored the pancakes and the syrup. "This is really good.."

Othidar smiled. "Simplest thing to make. I'll show you sometime. And a runebook, you say?" He scratched his beard in thought. "Then today's your lucky day, miss."

"You have one??"

"Sure do. Lemme grab it," he said, raising himself with a grunt. He walked over to one of his many shelves and withdrew a book from behind a collection of pots. He set it down on the table as Miranda hurriedly wiped her hands in case of any stray syrup. The book looked old and battered--the cover was cracked and warped, the pages were yellow. There was no lettering on the cover or the spine, but as Miranda leafed through it she saw pages and pages of symbols like the ones she found, accompanied by explanations of what each one means and what its used for.

"Now be careful with that," Othidar warned as Miranda flipped through it excitedly, thrilled as always to find a new book. "That's the Princess's. I just borrowed it so I can but some wards over my herb garden."

Miranda paused and reeled in her excitement. "Wards?" she asked.

The old elf grunted in agreement. "They haven't been doing too well lately. I'm worried there might be a disease or a fungus going around. I asked the dryads if they know anything about it but they don't seem to." His expression darkened. "Though if I'm honest, I think whatever's wilting my plants might be affecting Lenta, too."

Miranda looked up in alarm. "What do you mean?"

Othidar stroked his beard, finding his words. "They don't seem quite themself as of late. They're even more high-strung then normal, and their leaves keep wilting.."

Miranda considered this. "Have you asked them about it."

"'Course I have. Lenta'd have to be on their deathbed before they admit they're sick. Right now I'm just trying to figure out what's wrong with my plants and how to fix it--if I can come up with a treatment then _maybe_ they'll listen to me. Till then.. keep an eye on them for me, would you?"

 

The librarian crossed the bridge with the book in hand, troubled. She looked up at the leaves above. She supposed they did look a little yellow, but.. she tapped her fingers against the runebook distractedly. The Everstorm debacle has only just passed; surely it's simply from stress. In any case, she was going to have to pay more attention to the dryad. If they were indeed ill, Miranda wanted to help in any way she can. But in the meantime, she had a new form of magic to learn about, and she knew just were to start.

 

Rune magic, or at least the language of runes themselves, turned out to be a frustrating mix of simple and difficult. According to the book there are very few "official" runes that can be used by themselves in a charm. For example, there are runes that stand for "protection" and "evil," but not specifically for "protection against evil." That's fair enough, but to create a ward against evil one cannot simply put the two runes next to each like a phrase or a sentence--they need to be combined into one, like a portmanteau. For someone learning and deciphering runes for the first time, it's confusing to say the least.

Fortunately, the book listed common combinations as well as the base runes. Unfortunately, there were hundreds of potential combinations, and now that Miranda was actively searching for them she'd found dozens of runes hidden throughout her room and shop. It took over an hour to decipher them all.

Most of them were protection runes as Lenta had said, and fairly straightforward: wards against evil, the Withering, malintent, the like. She also found a ward against illness, which brought back to mind her conversation with Othidar. If Lenta has a ward against illness, does that mean they aren't ill or that the ward isn't strong enough...? She'll have to ponder that one later.

A few were more complicated to figure out, but reasonable to have: a rune that strengthens any spells cast in the area, another that makes conflicting magic less likely to react violently, that sort of thing. But there was one rune that puzzled her: "concealment."

She read the passage:

_"The concealment rune is a combination of the protection and illusion runes, used to hide something from discovery. Concealment runes are most often used to aid in hiding important objects or secret doors, but may also be used to hide a person from those who wish to do them harm."_

She eventually convinced herself it made sense. Lenta's very close to the Princess, after all--their tree even houses the royal court. It's possible the rune is meant to lead astray anyone that may wish to do her harm. Or perhaps there is a secret room of dangerous magical artifacts, given to Lenta to keep safe! Miranda nodded to herself. It's likely not strange at all, and in no small part exciting to know her host and home have royal secrets.

She replaced the bookshelves and set herself to the task of copying the book, and left well enough alone.

**Author's Note:**

> still not fully satisfied with that ending, whoops.


End file.
